[Temperament and character personality dimensions in patients with bipolar I disorder]

To compare Cloninger's dimensions of temperament and character in patients with bipolar I disorder (BP-I) and healthy controls from the general population.

This cross sectional study included 96 BP-I patients (according to DSM-IV-TR criteria) that were admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Iran due to an acute episode of mania or depression, or a mixed episode during 2011. Following stabilization of the acute phase, the patients completed the 125-item Temperament and Character Inventory-Persian Version of (TCI-125-PV). The scale's 7 dimensions of temperament and character were compared between the bipolar group and 1212 healthy controls via independent samples t-test. Moreover, the correlation between temperament and character scores, and age, duration of disorder, and mood variables (depression and mania scores) were assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient.

The bipolar patients had significantly higher harm avoidance (P= 0.001), and lower reward dependency (P= 0.001), persistence (P =0.044), cooperativeness (P= 0.001), self-directedness (P= 0.001), and self-transcendence (P= 0.004) scores than the controls. Female patients had lower reward dependency (P= 0.001), self-directedness (P= 0.001), and cooperativeness (P= 0.001) scores than male patients. In addition, TCI-125- PV scores were not strongly correlated with depression or mania scores, duration of disorder, or marital status.

The personality profiles of the BP-I patients differed from those of the controls. Lower self-directedness and cooperativeness scores in the bipolar group appeared to be associated with more immature personality traits.